Customers at Costa Coffee stores in Prague and other parts of the Czech Republic are now enjoying healthy Pinkfinch fruit crisps from Food Stories in Northern Ireland.

The deal to supply 50 Costa cafes in the Czech Republic is the latest in a string of significant export successes signed by Michael Heaslip, managing director of Food Stories, which is based in Belfast. It follows an agreement to supply Pinkfinch crisps to Hungary’s Wizz Air in Budapest. Costa is the world’s second biggest coffee chain.

Mr Heaslip, commenting on the Costa deal, the first success in the Czech Republic for the Belfast-based company, continues: “I attended a ‘meet the buyer’ event at the British Embassy in Prague in September 2018 run by the British Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic.

“Following from the event we made a number of retail and food service contacts that we have been developing over the past 12 months. The deal with Costa Coffee is a particularly exciting development for our business. The Costa Coffee brand in Czech Republic is run by Lagardère Travel Retail, one of the largest operators of food service and convenience retail outlets in the country.  The company also has substantial business at airports in Europe, including Belfast International, and further afield.

“We are hopeful this initial listing will lead to an expansion of our business in the market and an opportunity to explore other markets in which Lagardère operates,” adds Mr Heaslip,

Food Stories, a Food NI member company, is now supplying Pinkfinch Apple Fruit Crisps and Banana Fruit Crisps directly to the Costa network.

Mr Heaslip continues: “We have had amazing support from the British Chamber of Commerce team in the Czech Republic. They have been proactive at identifying potential sales channels for our brands and have made a host of introductions. This listing would not have been possible without them.

“They see Pinkfinch as a fantastic brand offering crisps that are healthy and functional with attractive packaging, which matches the demand for healthy products and growing consciousness of consumers in Czech Republic.

“As a gluten free, nut free and vegan friendly product we also expect it to appeal to allergy sufferers,” he adds.

The company has come a long way from a start in the spare bedroom of his parents in 2014. He has grown sales of his innovative snacks – the company also produces Cloud Corn branded popcorn – throughout the UK, where customers include Sainsbury’s, in the Republic of Ireland, where he supplies Tesco Ireland, as well other parts of Europe and the Middle East.

Portadown’s Holmes Bakery, a Food NI member, has formed a novel business partnership with Santa Claus, Finland.

Holmes is partnering up with the Santa Claus Foundation,Finland, an international charity, that has been acclaimed for its charitable donations and initiatives throughout the world that support children in need.

The official Santa Claus, Finland, logo will be featuring on products from the multi-award-winning Holmes Bakery as a result of a European franchise agreement with the Santa Claus Foundation.

The Santa Claus Foundation, which is based in Santa’s true homeland in Finland, is a well- known organisation which aims to spread Santa’s universal message of love and good will to the children of the world by advocating for those most in need. Finnish President, Sauli Niniinisto, is currently the patron of the charitable foundation.

Holmes, one of Northern Ireland’s most successful small bakeries, has been awarded the licence to produce three products under the Santa Claus, Finland brand for the UK and EU markets.

Holmes is crafting Christmas bakery favourites (and of course Santa’s favourite treats): Christmas Pudding, mince pies and shortbread biscuits, under the agreement negotiated with Des Campbell who is responsible for franchising deals at the foundation.

Gillian Castles, sales manager of the family owned and managed Holmes Bakery, commented on the agreement, saying: “We were thrilled when Des Campbell chose our company from the profiles provided to him from the Invest NI food marketing team and approached us about working with the foundation to provide premium bakery products.

“As a result, we have been working with the foundation’s team on developing three products and on shaping our packaging in line with the foundation’s specific requirements.

“It’s an exciting business opportunity for us to engage with what is probably the world’s best known and most loved brand. What’s even better is that we are also supporting the foundation and its charitable works. That’s what Christmas is all about.

“The agreement will see our premium baked goods on sale especially in markets outside Northern Ireland.

“It’s a very exciting opportunity for us to grow our business in both short and longer terms,” she adds.

The business is the outcome of a lead to Holmes Bakery from Invest NI’s food marketing team in Belfast. The company followed up quickly and secured the business.

Mr Campbell, who has a background in marketing and licensing and is based in Northern Ireland, was appointed by the foundation to take on its franchising role in early 2019. “I’ve been especially keen to involve Northern Ireland companies in working with the foundation since then. There are many excellent food processors here in particular,” he says.

“I was aware of the outstanding quality and taste of the baked goods from Holmes and was delighted to reach an agreement with such a successful and flexible local producer.

“I am confident that the franchise agreement will be mutually beneficial for the foundation and Holmes bakery. When you buy a product with the official Santa Claus logo on it not only are you supporting a local business but the Santa Claus Foundation’s charitable aims.

“I’ve certainly found the bakery enthusiastic about the opportunity and quick in responding to the foundation’s specific requirement,” he adds.

The agreement with the foundation is seen by the bakery as a significant development within its strategic focus on growing sales outside Northern Ireland. It already supplies a number of retailers in Britain including on-line shopping site Ocado. It recently signed a significant deal to supply 10 lines of handcrafted products to Shoprite, the Isle of Man’s leading supermarket chain.

Children’s cancer charity, Cancer Fund for Children is offering businesses and organisations throughout Northern Ireland the opportunity to experience the ‘Magic of Daisy Lodge’ whilst making a difference to the lives of children and young people impacted by cancer.

Daisy Lodge is Cancer Fund for Children’s unique therapeutic facility nestled at the foothills of the Mourne Mountains in Newcastle Co. Down.  Since opening Daisy Lodge in 2014 the charity has welcomed over 2,140 families affected by cancer for a free short break, allowing them to relax and recuperate and spend precious time together as a family unit. Now the charity is offering organisations the opportunity to use this amazing space for conferences, meetings and team building days to help raise vital funds.

To accommodate businesses they have a range of hospitality packages and facilities on offer.  This includes three private meeting rooms and a dining area that can accommodate small parties up to groups of up to 80 guests, free on-site parking, accommodation on request and the services of their award winning hospitality and catering team

Joan Burden, Cancer Fund for Children’s Hospitality Manager explains,

“When families aren’t staying with us we want to be able to offer companies the chance to use this tranquil and nurturing space. Daisy Lodge has been described by many families as a ‘haven’ and it really is the perfect space for businesses to take time out and gain inspiration. Better still by hiring our facilities you will be helping us provide hundreds of children diagnosed with cancer or living with a parent with cancer with practical and emotional support when they need it most.”

Not only will organisations using the facilities available at Daisy Lodge find breath-taking views of the Mourne Mountains they will also enjoy quality catering from Cancer Fund for Children’s hospitality team who have been awarded the Taste of Ulster for five consecutive years.

To find out more about Cancer Fund for Children’s corporate hospitality packages and how your organisation can meet their corporate social responsibility needs please contact Joan Burden T:028 9080 5599 or email Joan@cancerfundforchildren.com.

Read their CFFC Corporate Hospitality Brochure or visit the Cancer Fund for Children website for more details.

Contact Cancer Fund for Children’s Communications Manager, Rachel Burgoyne on 028 9080 5599 or email rachel@cancerfundforchildren.com for further enquiries.

 

Buchanans, the Northern Ireland specialist in baking and cooking ingredients for both retail and foodservice, has developed a separate nut processing and packing plant as a central feature of a strategic focus on growing business in Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

Based at Carrickfergus in County Antrim, ‘Buchanans’, the corporate identity of family-owned WG Buchanan and Son Ltd, has recently completed the construction and fitting out of a new 15,000 sq. ft. production and warehousing complex for its developing nut business. Invest NI has assisted the investment.

The new stand-alone complex is located adjacent to the company’s existing production unit and represents an investment of over £1 million and will lead to around 15 new employment opportunities.

Buchanans, which has been supplying the broadest range of baking and cooking ingredients since 1871, already employs 30 people in its extensive processing and packaging operations for retail and foodservice clients across the UK and Republic of Ireland. Its successful portfolio includes cereal, pulses, seeds, dried fruits, rice and culinary nuts as well as cake decorations.

The company is renowned in Northern Ireland for its market leading ‘Soup Mix’, a wholesome blend of barley, lentils and split peas, the base ingredient for many healthy home cooked soups and broths.
Philip Johnston, director of Operations at Buchanans, says the investment was made to enable it to seize new business opportunities identified in Great Britain, a market currently contributing around 60 percent of its existing sales.

“We’ve pinpointed exciting opportunities especially in the public sector for our range of ingredients in what is a very significant investment for the business,” he says. “Conscious of the growing concern over nut allergies, especially peanuts, we decided to completely separate the processing of nuts from the other aspects of our business.

“Our packaging has had to include customer advice that our products were packed in a factory that also handles nuts. This had a restrictive effect on some of our clients’ ability to increase their sales with us, especially those supplying schools and hospitals, where allergen control is paramount.

Although our nut products were already packed using dedicated machinery and strict allergen controls within our existing site, to minimise any potential cross contamination, we took the decision to invest in a new completely separate processing plant and warehousing in order to provide even greater assurance to both customer and the end user.

“The plant features state-of-the-art processing and packing facilities. We’ve also carried forward the high hygiene standards and robust allergen control which have long been a feature of our existing operations into the new plant. It’s completely self-contained,” he adds.

The company is aiming to grow sales in Britain, particularly to foodservice organisations, by around 15 percent over the next two years through this important strategic investment. The expansion will also provide additional capacity to grow business in the Irish Republic, currently the company’s biggest market outside the UK.

“While our main focus is on growing business with existing and potential clients we’ve pinpointed in Britain, we are also pursuing opportunities in the Republic. We’ve currently got a solid base there for faster growth,” adds Mr Johnston.
Originally established in Belfast, Buchanans moved to a new production and warehousing facility in Carrickfergus in 2007 which enabled the expansion in sales to retailers, wholesalers and foodservice providers throughout the UK, Ireland and further afield.